A380 - Montreal - Paris CDG - route verification flight operated by Airbus/AirFrance
Nov 14, 2007, 7:43 am
#20
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Coming back from LHR, I just enjoyed a nice buffet lunch at the Sheraton CDG with chrissxb before his departure to YUL. Lucky him ^
Nov 15, 2007, 4:52 am
#21
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NOV14 – AF7763 SXB-CDG operated by BritAir in a Fokker100 registered F-GPXD
So Freddie JR and I, we arrived at 9H40 at Strasbourg Entzheim airport to start our trip to Montreal. I parked the car in P4 which is the cheapest of all Strasbourg parking lots. In the beginning, I wanted to take the train to the airport but with French railways being on strike, this was just not possible.
I had a pre-printed boarding pass, but I had to pass to the e-services/baggage drop counter to exchange it for a new BP – seat 2F. On my initial boarding pass I was assigned 15A – and who wants to do that in a Regional Jet?
I think I initially got that seat assignments because of the B1 I got printed on my BP at the place where you usually would find the frequent flyer number. Btw, that meant as well – no miles for that flight. But when you get a free flight, that’s not your biggest problem 
There were no lines at security and I proceeded to the gate area. I stopped to get the traditional pain au chocolate (they’re really good at the airport – don’t miss if you come to Strasbourg). Boarding started (jetway) on time at 10h30 by rows. Elites were not allowed to board earlier. A few minutes later it was boarding for rows 1-14. Time for Freddie JR and me to get onboard.
The middle seat was free and so the ride to Paris shouldn’t be too bad. Doors were closed, the usual safety announcements were made and we took off on time on the only runway Strasbourg has, northbound.
After 20minutes, beverage service started. Sucré ou sale ? Sweet or with salt? Coke and farallucci au fenouil for me. Locked like some little donut-cracker with fennel seeds. Next time: peanuts for me or sucré
30min before scheduled landing, we started our descent to Paris. We landed on time on runway 26L-08R. After the usual scenery-tour at Paris, we arrived at a remote stand in the middle of nowhere. Great – another scenery-bus-tour was on the horizon. Deplaning was quick and we were taken to terminal 2D.
I had a pre-printed boarding pass, but I had to pass to the e-services/baggage drop counter to exchange it for a new BP – seat 2F. On my initial boarding pass I was assigned 15A – and who wants to do that in a Regional Jet?
I think I initially got that seat assignments because of the B1 I got printed on my BP at the place where you usually would find the frequent flyer number. Btw, that meant as well – no miles for that flight. But when you get a free flight, that’s not your biggest problem There were no lines at security and I proceeded to the gate area. I stopped to get the traditional pain au chocolate (they’re really good at the airport – don’t miss if you come to Strasbourg). Boarding started (jetway) on time at 10h30 by rows. Elites were not allowed to board earlier. A few minutes later it was boarding for rows 1-14. Time for Freddie JR and me to get onboard.
The middle seat was free and so the ride to Paris shouldn’t be too bad. Doors were closed, the usual safety announcements were made and we took off on time on the only runway Strasbourg has, northbound.
After 20minutes, beverage service started. Sucré ou sale ? Sweet or with salt? Coke and farallucci au fenouil for me. Locked like some little donut-cracker with fennel seeds. Next time: peanuts for me or sucré
30min before scheduled landing, we started our descent to Paris. We landed on time on runway 26L-08R. After the usual scenery-tour at Paris, we arrived at a remote stand in the middle of nowhere. Great – another scenery-bus-tour was on the horizon. Deplaning was quick and we were taken to terminal 2D.
Nov 15, 2007, 5:58 am
#22
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transfer at CDG - the new S3 terminal
At Paris airport, I met jouy31 for a quick lunch. While waiting for him, I was able to cancel my TGV ticket to Strasbourg for Friday and book a ow-ticket on AF. Did you ever go to a station where no train is leaving from? No lines at the two open counters at the CDG TGV rail station. Scary. Only two people trying to get their AA-TGVAir onward trip – but I guess they had to use their own means of transports with SNCF being on strike.
So Jouy31 and I, we had lunch at the Sheraton – they have a really nice salad bar buffet and it was nice to see jouy31 again. Thanks for inviting me for lunch – I really appreciated that. Next time, its on me
One hour later, it was time to head for the new S3 terminal extension. I am walking ...
Being able to take the Acces 1 elite lane for immigration, this was done within a few minutes and I took the automatic train to the S3 terminal (part of Terminal E)
Interesting enough, when arriving I passed security and discovered – first time for me – this new terminal. I was very surprised to see a really nice, spacious duty free area. Very modern, not too crowded. Good job ADP! Time to discover the new AirFrance lounge in that area – I heard a lot about it so I wanted to see myself. I still had 30min before boarding should start.
To access the lounge, you need to take an elevator to another level. In fact, the lounge is really huge, centrally located with two exits – to make your walk to your gate shorter.
There are two different refreshment areas, sodas, wine (Château de Chamirey, Château de Rully, champagne Deutz) and some liquors.
The seating area is very nice – quiet zones, work zones, zones close to the bar to grab a bite of enjoy some champagne.
Freddie enjoyed his stay in the AF S3 lounge area ^
Time for boarding. I took the elevator down to the gate area and proceeded to gate 53.
Shouldn’t boarding have started by now? No. they had problems with the jetway and so the flight should be delayed by 20min. sigh. Some quick photos taken in the terminal and from the aircraft before a security guard informed me that its not allowed to take pictures within the terminal and I should pack my camera away before French police discovers me. What a stupid rule
Elite lane worked perfectly and I was able to board my 777-300 (F-GZNA) operated by AirFrance as AF346.
So Jouy31 and I, we had lunch at the Sheraton – they have a really nice salad bar buffet and it was nice to see jouy31 again. Thanks for inviting me for lunch – I really appreciated that. Next time, its on me
One hour later, it was time to head for the new S3 terminal extension. I am walking ...
Being able to take the Acces 1 elite lane for immigration, this was done within a few minutes and I took the automatic train to the S3 terminal (part of Terminal E)
Interesting enough, when arriving I passed security and discovered – first time for me – this new terminal. I was very surprised to see a really nice, spacious duty free area. Very modern, not too crowded. Good job ADP! Time to discover the new AirFrance lounge in that area – I heard a lot about it so I wanted to see myself. I still had 30min before boarding should start.
To access the lounge, you need to take an elevator to another level. In fact, the lounge is really huge, centrally located with two exits – to make your walk to your gate shorter.
There are two different refreshment areas, sodas, wine (Château de Chamirey, Château de Rully, champagne Deutz) and some liquors.
The seating area is very nice – quiet zones, work zones, zones close to the bar to grab a bite of enjoy some champagne.
Freddie enjoyed his stay in the AF S3 lounge area ^
Time for boarding. I took the elevator down to the gate area and proceeded to gate 53.
Shouldn’t boarding have started by now? No. they had problems with the jetway and so the flight should be delayed by 20min. sigh. Some quick photos taken in the terminal and from the aircraft before a security guard informed me that its not allowed to take pictures within the terminal and I should pack my camera away before French police discovers me. What a stupid rule
Elite lane worked perfectly and I was able to board my 777-300 (F-GZNA) operated by AirFrance as AF346.
Last edited by chrissxb; Nov 17, 2007 at 3:29 am
Nov 15, 2007, 7:17 am
#23
Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 34
Because of close contact between myself and AF management as a result of FT I got a phone call asking me if I wanted to be on that flight. As you all can imagine I said yes without hesitating since I am sure, this non-commercial flight will be a once in a lifetime experience and I'd like to say that I am very excited and thankful that AirFrance gave me the opportunity to be on the flight from Montreal to Paris with Freddie Jr 
and even better - I got a free flight from Strasbourg to Montreal to be able to board that flight. In this thread I will share my Montreal trip with the FlyerTalk community. .
and even better - I got a free flight from Strasbourg to Montreal to be able to board that flight. In this thread I will share my Montreal trip with the FlyerTalk community. .
Nov 15, 2007, 7:55 am
#24
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NOV14 – AF346 CDG - YUL operated by AirFrance in a 777-300ER registered F-GZNA
Boarding started with a delay of approx. 20min but was very efficient. Elite line worked and within a couple of minutes later I was able to discover the new economy cabin (discussed here post 22 and further)
A few words about this new 3-4-3 configuration. The seats seem to be a little wider because IFE remote control and plug for earphones are no longer in the armrest but in the seat next to the TV screen. But the aisle is definitely smaller – watch your knees for the cart
This aircraft has also the latest IFE system with 85 movies on demand (no wait in economy) in up to 9 different languages, TV series, radios and more than 200 CDs and video clips. This is a great improvement compared to the older systems. Hurry up AF – we want to see this in all aircrafts
I just wanted to show you the variety of movies available: Big, les bronzes, Amelie Poulain, les visiteurs, the Full Monty, Walk the Line, Casablanca, 36 quai des Orfèvres, Oceans 11,12,13, Garfield, Pirates of the Caribean, Spider Man 3 , les choristes ….
The flight started with the usual announcements (welcome onboard, non smoking flight, information about FB… ) but since we had to catch up with the delayed departure, they made 2 announcements at the same time. So I heard information about this being a non smoking flight (English announcement) and: “… vous trouverez des informations sur notre programme de fidelisation Flying Blue … .” in French. 
We left the gate at 4h38pm and took off eastbound at 4:59pm on runway 09R-27L.
you can actually follow the take-off on a detailled map of the airport. google earth goes live
In-flight service started with usual hand out of the economy-kit (with earphones) – I declined since I had my QC2. Then we got the menu – I had seen this before, to be more precise on AF36 CDG-IAH just 10 days before. But I liked it the other day so I knew what to expect.
The crew was very nice and attentive, they came more often than they had to (I’ve seen the galley sheet ) so we got a additional bread and drinks. Another nice detail: they asked a woman on the exit row (18) to put her bag in the overhead compartment for take-off and at 5000ft without her having to ask, they came and asked if she needed it back. That’s AF crew as I like it ^
But back to the flight report. Time for the apéritif. I had vodka orange and some cheese-garlic crackers, definitely better than the fennel bagel-cracker I had on BritAir this morning. A short while later, dinner service started. I did chose chicken.
Then came the usual time to watch movies, get some rest or – write a FlyerTalk trip report.
An hour before landing, we were given a light meal – or call it sandwich if you prefer
We landed at 5h56 local time on runway 24L-06R and I got thru canadian immigration without and secondary. That was really new to me – I thought that was standard procedure for Elites and FlyerTalker
A few words about this new 3-4-3 configuration. The seats seem to be a little wider because IFE remote control and plug for earphones are no longer in the armrest but in the seat next to the TV screen. But the aisle is definitely smaller – watch your knees for the cart
This aircraft has also the latest IFE system with 85 movies on demand (no wait in economy) in up to 9 different languages, TV series, radios and more than 200 CDs and video clips. This is a great improvement compared to the older systems. Hurry up AF – we want to see this in all aircrafts
I just wanted to show you the variety of movies available: Big, les bronzes, Amelie Poulain, les visiteurs, the Full Monty, Walk the Line, Casablanca, 36 quai des Orfèvres, Oceans 11,12,13, Garfield, Pirates of the Caribean, Spider Man 3 , les choristes ….
The flight started with the usual announcements (welcome onboard, non smoking flight, information about FB… ) but since we had to catch up with the delayed departure, they made 2 announcements at the same time. So I heard information about this being a non smoking flight (English announcement) and: “… vous trouverez des informations sur notre programme de fidelisation Flying Blue … .” in French.
We left the gate at 4h38pm and took off eastbound at 4:59pm on runway 09R-27L.you can actually follow the take-off on a detailled map of the airport. google earth goes live
In-flight service started with usual hand out of the economy-kit (with earphones) – I declined since I had my QC2. Then we got the menu – I had seen this before, to be more precise on AF36 CDG-IAH just 10 days before. But I liked it the other day so I knew what to expect.
Shrimp, cucumber, heart of palm and cherry tomatoe salad
~~~~
Chicken fricassee served with curry coconut milk sauce, grilled vegetables and wheatberries
Or
Salmon with sorrel cream sauce accompagnied by five-color pasta
~~~~
Camembert cheese
Yoghurt
Molten Caramel dessert ^^^
~~~~
Chicken fricassee served with curry coconut milk sauce, grilled vegetables and wheatberries
Or
Salmon with sorrel cream sauce accompagnied by five-color pasta
~~~~
Camembert cheese
Yoghurt
Molten Caramel dessert ^^^
) so we got a additional bread and drinks. Another nice detail: they asked a woman on the exit row (18) to put her bag in the overhead compartment for take-off and at 5000ft without her having to ask, they came and asked if she needed it back. That’s AF crew as I like it ^But back to the flight report. Time for the apéritif. I had vodka orange and some cheese-garlic crackers, definitely better than the fennel bagel-cracker I had on BritAir this morning. A short while later, dinner service started. I did chose chicken.
Then came the usual time to watch movies, get some rest or – write a FlyerTalk trip report.
An hour before landing, we were given a light meal – or call it sandwich if you prefer
We landed at 5h56 local time on runway 24L-06R and I got thru canadian immigration without and secondary. That was really new to me – I thought that was standard procedure for Elites and FlyerTalker
Nov 15, 2007, 10:40 am
#25
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The google earth thing has been used by Air NZ for the past year or so on 744/777 a/c and I like it. On theirs it only operates the first few minutes and last few minutes of the flight. Is it the same on AF?
Nov 17, 2007, 3:10 am
#29
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the A380 - flight 1X380P before boarding - check-in
no words about the rainy stay at Montreal. I got a corner room at the IC, but there's really nothing to write about. so I get to the most important part of the trip - the A380. I arrived at 6pm at Montreal Aéroport Pierre Trudeau and it wasn't difficult to find my way - there were huge signs in the AF check-in area...
... and people with Airbus Jackets. that must be the right place. As soon as check-in for the last regular flight to Paris (AF347) stopped we were asked to proceed to the counter to receive the boarding pass for flight 1X380P.
Seat 84A. On a regular flight I would have complained about a seat with a similar number , but there was the big unanswered question were that would be. upper deck? lower deck? A should be a window seat, that's for sure I add the cabin layout here so you all know were I was seated. it was the 2nd economy cabin on the upper deck. I discovered only when I boarded and was told to take the jetway B which brought me to the upper deck.
I proceeded security and discovered on the way to gate B55 another sign.
Welcome our A380 winner. I wasn't a winner, but maybe my name was on that list of course it wasn't and I moved on to the gate area. the lounge was blocked for another VIP party. some people are more important than others, but I am completely fine with what I got ^
... and people with Airbus Jackets. that must be the right place. As soon as check-in for the last regular flight to Paris (AF347) stopped we were asked to proceed to the counter to receive the boarding pass for flight 1X380P.
Seat 84A. On a regular flight I would have complained about a seat with a similar number
, but there was the big unanswered question were that would be. upper deck? lower deck? A should be a window seat, that's for sure I add the cabin layout here so you all know were I was seated. it was the 2nd economy cabin on the upper deck. I discovered only when I boarded and was told to take the jetway B which brought me to the upper deck. I proceeded security and discovered on the way to gate B55 another sign.
Welcome our A380 winner. I wasn't a winner, but maybe my name was on that list
of course it wasn't and I moved on to the gate area. the lounge was blocked for another VIP party. some people are more important than others, but I am completely fine with what I got ^
Nov 17, 2007, 3:24 am
#30
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the A380 - flight 1X380P before boarding - the gate area
In boarding area at Gate B55 I've seen her for the very first time
Wow. I've seen her at the FlyerTalk Tour de France 'Airbus' DO 2007 in Toulouse un spring, but that was different. closer. more real in an aiport boarding area... you all know what I mean I'd see soon what's inside that aircraft, how it feels to take off and be a part of it - the A380 experience. They prepared pre-boarding drinks in a restricted area, I was among the first people to show up - time for me and Freddie JR. to take some pictures which I will post here without further comments.
I saw flight AF347 leaving - the crew (they were on AF346 yesterday) recognized me and wished me a very pleasant flight. ^ It was funny to see them and other people stop their walk and their conversation and watch the A380, take pictures, ... TV teams arrived, it got more and more crowded. oh, and we had some Beaujolais Nouveau to make the ambience perfect, a accordeon player started to play "France ... Douce France ..."
then finally, the A380 was ready to board.
...please take the upper jetway, enjoy the flight.
Wow. I've seen her at the FlyerTalk Tour de France 'Airbus' DO 2007 in Toulouse un spring, but that was different. closer. more real in an aiport boarding area... you all know what I mean
I'd see soon what's inside that aircraft, how it feels to take off and be a part of it - the A380 experience. They prepared pre-boarding drinks in a restricted area, I was among the first people to show up - time for me and Freddie JR. to take some pictures which I will post here without further comments.I saw flight AF347 leaving - the crew (they were on AF346 yesterday) recognized me and wished me a very pleasant flight. ^ It was funny to see them and other people stop their walk and their conversation and watch the A380, take pictures, ... TV teams arrived, it got more and more crowded. oh, and we had some Beaujolais Nouveau
to make the ambience perfect, a accordeon player started to play "France ... Douce France ..." then finally, the A380 was ready to board.
...please take the upper jetway, enjoy the flight.